Category: recipes

During their time on the island, young chefs Aaron Ward & Troy Crisante cooked some of their secret recipes for the Tiwi College Project, and shared these recipes along with some of their chef’s secrets with the college. The marinades are perfect for a BBQ at home.

method: lamb breast

Preheat pressure cooker and set oven to 180°C. In a large heavy base pot, caramelise onions, carrot, leeks, celery, 2 garlic cloves and 100g ginger. Once coloured, de-glaze with 5 litres of lamb stock and bring to boil. Skim any surface scum with a spoon and add the lamb breast bone in. Carefully transfer to the pressure cooker, season the pressure cooker with peppercorns, 1 bunch thyme and enough salt to ensure the lamb is seasoned all the way through after cooking. Cook on high pressure for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Once the cooking time is complete, carefully release all the pressure. Remove the lid and skim all fat from the surface. Allow the lamb to cool in the liquor until safe enough to handle. Cooling in the liquor will ensure that the lamb remains succulent.

Carefully remove lamb breast from liquor once cooled and remove all bones from the cooked lamb breast (they come out very easily). Cut into approximately 150g portions. Fry the lamb skin side down in hot vegetable oil in a medium sized fry pan. Once skin is crispy, add 2 knobs of butter, a bunch of thyme and 2 bay leaves. Cover with a tight fitting lid and put into oven for 10 minutes.

While the lamb is cooking, you can make and plate the other elements and garnish your plate.

method: lambs brain

Run brains under cold running water until clear. Remove any brain sinew and cut out the medulla. Cut brains into 2 x 2cm cubes and soak in 200ml milk for 10 minutes. On the stovetop in a medium saucepan, using a thermometer to carefully test the temperature, bring 500ml of oil up to 200°C and hold at that temperature. Finely chop pine nuts and in a large mixing bowl, mix equal amounts of pine nuts and quinoa.

Pane the brains using the tempura flour then into an egg wash and then into the pine nuts and quinoa. Once crumbed, deep fry at 200°C for 30 seconds. Rest on some paper towel until ready to plate.

method: eggplant

Peel the eggplant and cut into half (length ways) and then into half-moon segments, approx. 2 inches thick. Soak in a brine made from 1 litre water to 100g salt for 15 minutes. 15 minutes before serving, remove from brine and steam in a bamboo steamer on high steam for 5 minutes. Serve 2 half-moons per portion.

method: cavalo nero & enoki mushroom

Cut enoki mushrooms down to 10cm lengths in 2 inch bundles. Caramelise in a hot fry pan, deglaze with butter and remove them allowing them to sit in their cooking juices. Finely slice 1 clove of garlic and sauté in olive oil until golden. Add the baby Cavalo Nero and 50ml lamb stock. Cook down and drain onto paper towel.

method: ginger black vinegar jus

In a large pot, sauté the lamb bones and chicken wings until golden. Add butter, sliced eschallots, 2 cloves garlic, enoki trim, 100g ginger and caramelise. Deglaze the pan with white wine. Add bay leaves and sprig of thyme and 1 whole star anise. Add 2 litres of lamb stock and reduce by 3/4. Thicken with arrow root until you have a jus consistency.

Strain and adjust with black vinegars to your own taste depending on how acidic you prefer your sauce.

method: green shallots

Cut into 5cm baton and fry on high heat in vegetable oil, seasoning slightly with salt. Dress with white sesame oil just enough to coat.

method: crispy ginger

Preheat a small pot of oil to 170°C. Finely slice ginger on mandolin and fry until golden.

plating up

Divide the plate into three equal sections. Carve each portion of lamb belly into 5cm by 8 cm rectangles, then in half lengthwise. Place lamb in the centre right third of the plate with one piece further then the next. Carve eggplant into half-moons. Place 2 on a 45 degree angle next to lamb. Lay enoki over the eggplant following the natural contour of the half-moon shape. Between eggplants place three little piles of Cavalo Nero. On each side of the eggplant place a nugget of brain keeping in straight alignment with the other garnish. Stand 3 green onion batons up using the eggplant and brain as leverage. On top of each eggplant place a little bit of ginger. Sauce the lamb with 3 tablespoons of sauce.

Chef’s tips

When making stock it’s good to brown the meat and vegetables first.

If you can’t get lamb breast, you can use lamb shoulder or boneless leg.

George Papaioannou, waiter at Luxembourg in Melbourne describes his service style as approachable, knowledgeable, humble. He also loves a good cocktail & shared his ‘cocktail of the now’ recipe with us along with his predictions for 2017 below.

What do you see trending in Melbourne right now?

Who doesn’t love an Aperol Spritz? Probably still the most wanted drink in Melbourne, especially as summer is just around the corner and our days get longer and our nights get shorter. Refreshing and delicious, it will definitely be on everyone’s mind when the sun starts to shine.

What’s exciting you about 2017?

Melbourne hosting the ‘Olympic Games of Food’ in 2017. The World’s 50 Best is coming down under, and it’s going to feel right at home in Australia’s hospitality mecca, Melbourne. Restaurants will be buzzing with hospitality folk and respected people within the industry. It’s going to be an exciting time for anyone in Melbourne.

What do you see as the next big thing in 2017?

The next big thing in 2017 could be the return of Gueridon Service. Whereby food is finished and presented at the table. Service that is still casual yet impressive. Filleting fish or Crepes Suzette. Turning the food into a form of entertainment and skill; and bringing an air of sophistication to a casual environment.

What are you ‘crushing on’ this week?

Currently, I do love a good cocktail. Especially a La Louisiane. If it’s starting a meal with one, having one after work or ending a meal with one, it’s a fantastic drink and one for any occasion. There’s a reason I paired it with a dish for the Hunt + Gather Dinner. It’s what I love to drink. A perfect concoction of Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Dom Benedictine, Sweet Vermouth and a dash of bitters. Incredible.

La Louisiane Cocktail Recipe

20ml Woodford Reserve Bourbon

20ml Sweet Vermouth

20ml Dom Benedictine

10ml Absinthe

Peychaud’s Bitters

Method:

1. Chill your coupe glass by filling with ice while you gather all of your ingredients

Ask your fishmonger to scale, fillet, and skin the Gurnard into 4 x fillets and keep the frames so you can use for fish stock at home. Make sure they are at room temperature before cooking – about 30 minutes.

Wash the artichokes, and steam for 20 minutes or until soft. Once cooked cut in half place cut side down in a frying pan, add 150g butter, garlic and thyme, place in the oven and slowly cook at 160°C for about 30-45 until golden and allow to rest in the butter.

For the toasted cream, place the cream in a large saucepan and boil making sure that the cream doesn’t stick to the bottom or burn by stirring frequently, every few minutes. Continue to reduce until the cream splits into a yellow butter and milk solids which is like a granular golden brown in colour. This takes about 35 minutes. Be careful not to cook it too long or it will burn. You need to have a buttery & nut colour and nutty aroma

For the Nettle Sauce. Chop the nettle finely. Fry in a shallow pan in a little olive oil on a medium heat until soft which takes about 5 minutes. Add macadamia nuts and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and squeeze juice of 1 lemon into nettles. Set aside and begin cooking the fish

In a non stick pan, warm the pan on a medium heat and add olive oil. Fry the Gurnard and cook about 2-3minutes each side. Remove from heat, leave in fry pan to rest for 2 minutes.

To finish coat the fish generously in the pan first with the toasted cream sauce, then baste with the nettle sauce. Place the fish onto warmed plates. Season artichokes with salt and lemon zest placing a few on each plate. Serve immediately.

Chef’s tips

Don’t discard the left over crab, use to make chili crab or a curry or freeze the shell and meat to use at a later date.

Nettles are hard to handle so wear gloves when handling, and once the nettles are cooked on a high heat the sting disappears.

Use the fish heads and frames to make stocks, just add onion, celery, fennel and leek and simmer in water for 20 minutes. Strain and discard the solids keeping the liquid. Allow to cool and freeze for future use.

1 Stick of lemongrass top inch and bottom inch discarded then thinly slice

1 Bunch of coriander, washed thoroughly and sliced stems & leaves

2 Limes

1 Orange

2tsb Sea salt

4tbs White wine vinegar

1 Garlic cloves minced

1tbs Fish sauce

1tbs Minced fresh young ginger

1tbs water

Method

Place the vinegar and water into a small saucepan and place on to a stove on a low heat, once a slow simmer is reached add the palm sugar. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved then remove from the heat, add the fish sauce then set aside and allow to cool. While the liquid is cooling add the chilli, lemongrass, coriander and ginger into a mortar and pestle, zest the orange and one of the lemons into the pestle and grind the mixture for 30 seconds. Transfer to a stainless steel bowl and then add all of the juiced citrus. Once the mixture has cooled to below 59 degrees pour over the aromats and allow to cool to below 4 degrees in a refrigerated space stirring occasionally. Place into a serving vessel and serve with Tuncurry Sydney Rock Oysters.

Tips

If palm sugar is unavailable, substitute with brown sugar but reduce the amount down by 1tbs

To add a twist replace the fish sauce with 2 tbs of soy and ½ tsp of rose water

To obtain a better flavour from the lemongrass use the back of the knife to bruise the lemongrass before slicing.

Mix yuzu juice, sugar, egg yolks in a stainless bowl and begin to whisk over a pot of simmering water. Continue to whisk until the mixture has thickened and remove from the heat and whisk in 100g of the diced butter, season with salt and pass through a fine strainer.

Lettuce

Remove out leaves and discard. Chop the bottom third off the lettuce and discard. Separate the leaves and spit the leaves down the centre. Wash and dry the lettuce.

Bug cracker

Blend tapioca and bug trim with a pinch of salt in the food processer, pass through a fine tamis and place in sous vide bags, 70g for 300mmx210mm size bags. Place in a cryovac machine on the highest setting. Roll the mixture to fill the bag with a rolling pin to get a thin even sheet. Place the bags in a steam oven for 5 minutes at 90Oc. Once cooked chill in an ice bath. Remove from the bags, slice the sheet in half, then slice thin strips, place the strips in the dehydrator for 1 hour or until dry.

Kombubutter

Freeze Kombu and blitz as fine as possible in a food processor. Add 150g diced butter and blend until incorporated. Chill.

Kombu sauce

Bring 60ml of water to the boil, lower heat and slowly whisk in 80g Kombu butter, reduce sauce until the sauce is suitably thick.

To serve

Fry the bug cracker in vegetable oil at 180-200oc, drain on paper towel, allow 4-6 pieces per portion.Lightly season the bugs with salt, pan fry over medium heat for one minute on the top side, turn the bugs over, add 25g of butter and baste the bugs for 30 seconds. Drain on paper and rest. Saute the cos lettuce with a spoonful of the kombu butter until slightly wilted and add the chopped macadamia – place to the side ready for plating.

Plating up

Place a dollop of the Yuzu curd and swipe across the plate with a thin spatula. Gently place a few of the lettuce leaves & macadamia on top of the swiped curd. Place one bug tail on top of the lettuce and top with a spoonful of finger lime pearls. Drizzle a spoonful of the Kombu butter onto the plate at the end of the bug tail. Place 4-6 bug crackers over the bug tail and using a microplane or fine grater, grate a whole macadamia over the plate to finish.

Josh Niland , head chef at Sydney’s Cafe Nice and an Electrolux Australian Young Chef Highly Commended shares his easy, extremely decadent, fit for the gods and delicious chocolate moon cake recipe!

Preparation time: 10mins

Cooking time: 35mins

Skill level: beginner

Serves: 8

Ingredients

225g Unsalted Butter

340g Chocolate 64%

6 Eggs

200g Sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 155°C in standard oven/no fan. Prepare a desired mould eg: muffin pan, porcelain ramekin or deep baking tray with canola spray & line the base with baking paper. You will also need a gastronome or baking tray which will be used as a water bath for baking & the tin to sit inside of.

Heat water in a medium saucepan. Place a metal bowl on top making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Melt butter & chocolate together & mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar & eggs well together. Whisk egg/sugar into the chocolate/butter combining well.

Pour mix into cake tin. Cover the tin tightly with foil, put it into the middle of the baking tray & place in the oven. Pour very warm water into the baking tray so that it comes halfway up the sides of the cake tin. Cooking time will vary from 30 minutes – 90 minutes depending on the size of the tin. Be careful not to overcook the cake.

It will be ready when it feels set when touched but the mix will stick to your finger when touched in the middle. Once cooked, remove from oven to cool. When cool, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

When ready to serve or once the slice is cold & hard – about 3 hours – portion into 8 even slices approx. 1.5cm thick. The slice is best eaten at room temperature & served with crème fraiche and a pinch of sea salt on top. You can also roll the slice in toasted sunflower seeds

Chef’s tips

Adjust oven temperature if the cake is cooking too quickly or too slowly

To add some extra flavour to the cake you could try blitzing the sugar with herbs like native mint.

It’s a Tuesday morning on the Electrolux Appetite for Excellence produce tour and that means blue cheese day at Boosey Creek Cheese.

Cheesemaker and co-owner, Ken Cameron, gives us a tour of the dairy and 900-acre farm where 350 Friesian cows produce 400 million litres of milk a year. Only 100,000 litres goes into the cheesemaking, yet this ‘side business’ is the heart of Boosey Creek.

“We’ve been milking cows on this farm for 14 years and have been dairy farmers before that,” says Ken. “But when the drought came through, we sold the bigger part of the dairy and started making cheese.”

That diversification, spurred by a family history of cheesemaking and Ken’s passion has turned around the family business.

“The second batch of cheese I ever made won a silver medal at the Sydney Royal Show,” says Ken proudly. While the Boosey Blue is their best seller, the Warby Red Brie/Camembert is racking up the awards, including Australia’s Champion Washed Rind Cheese in the 2015 Australian Grand Dairy Awards.

On Mondays, they make Camembert and Brie, on Tuesdays, it’s blue cheese, and Gouda and cheddar are made “any day of the week.”

Ken uses 500 litres from the first milking of the day for the cheesemaking. The milk runs directly from the cows to the dairy through a pipe barely a metre long between the two buildings. “That’s one thing we do differently,” says Ken’s mother, Ada Cameron, as she expertly cuts a Warby Red for our tasting. “As soon as you have to transport your milk even 100m across the yard to the factory you have to cool it, then heat it up and pump it again, whereas our milk only gets one little pump. That makes a huge difference to the quality of the cheese.”

The quality is also in the cheesemaking.

“Everything is done by hand,” explains Ada. “The salting, hooping, wrapping and milling. After the curds set they have to be milled. Big factories use machinery but we do it with the chopping board. You’ve got to have it done within so many minutes so the pH doesn’t change so we’re all madly chopping away.”

The success of a small-scale, artisanal cheesemaker is one of the factors that impress chef Jordan McLeod and waiter Robert Luo from Oscillate Wildly.

Dan Moss, chef and restaurateur from Terroir Auburn, also appreciates seeing things first hand. “We make our own Haloumi cheese so I can relate to a few of the processes. We use milk from Jersey cows in the Fleurieu so it was interesting to see this milk from Friesians, and the sheer size of them,” he says.

By-products, such as whey, are returned to the farm. “We make a poo shandy,” says Ada. “We have a two pond system for our effluence. During irrigation season we shandy that with our irrigation water and it goes on the paddocks. The grass loves it.”

The irrigation system also means the cows feed on perennial and annual pastures all year round. They are also fed grains during milking, depending on their individual feeding allowance.

“All the cows have RFID tags; when they walk into the dairy, it reads their number and that information is used for the feed system. There’s also a milk meter that checks how much milk they give,” says Ken.

“On average, a cow produces 30 litres a day, and up to 50 litres when they calve. Friesians produce more milk than most breeds. We milk three times a day and the majority goes to Parmalat for Pauls milk.

“They are two years old when they’re started and they calve every 12-15 months. We have cows calving all year round and about half of those are female, so the herd is growing by 100 cows a year. We don’t buy any; we sell the older cows routinely, and the male calves at five-days old.”

We walk around to the shed where a dozen doe-eyed brown calves are hand fed by Ken and his family. The calves poke their noses through the wooden gates and lick our fingers.

It’s life on a dairy farm, and the result is award-winning cheese that spells success for the Cameron family.

Sugar & jam step aside, the doughnut is now savoury. One of our young chefs, Josh Gregory from Biota Dining in Bowral NSW shares his Cockatoo Grove Olive Oil Doughnut recipe, which we featured at our awards night earlier this year.

Olive Oil Doughnuts

Preparation time: 2 hours (includes proving time)

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Skills needed: Beginner/Intermediate

Serves: 40

Ingredients

600g bakers’ flour

100g finely chopped green olive – stones out

70g sugar

40g cold butter cubed

24g dry yeast

125g Cockatoo Grove olive oil

125g water

80g milk

Salt

Dehydrated black olive*

Method

Combine water, milk, yeast and sugar in a large mixing bowl and allow yeast to activate and go frothy or about 15 – 20 minutes in a warm place. In a standing mixer or kitchenaid with a dough hook, add flour, green olives and begin mixing on low speed. Slowly pour in wet mixture until dough begins to form. Divide the butter and olive oil into three equal portions or thirds. Add one portion of olive oil to the dough and mix until completely combined. Then add the second portion of butter & olive and mix until completely combined. Add the last portion of olive & butter and mix until combined & the dough is silky and elastic. Remove bowl from mixer, cover with a tea towel and allow dough to rest and proof in a warm place for approximately 30 – 40 minutes or until is doubled in size.

Once dough is proved, pinch off about a teaspoon size of dough. Roll into olive sized balls, place on lightly oiled oven tray and allow to prove again for 5 minutes. Deep fry in small batches at 180 degrees until puffed and golden. If you don’t have a deep fryer you can shallow fry in 10cm of vegetable oil.

Roll in mix of salt and dehydrated black olive powder & serve immediately. Serve on platters garnished with olive branches and leaves, drizzle with olive oil . Can be served with aioli if preferred

Chef’s tips:

After the individual doughnuts have been made you can cover with gladwrap and store in the fridge the day before. When ready to cook, remove from the fridge, allow to prove before deep frying.

If you’d like to be adventurous why not make your own dehydrated olives. Place small batches (about 30) in a microwave on low heat and cook 10 x times in 30 second time slots or until olives are dry. Place in spice grinder and blend.

The dough recipe can also be used to make brioche buns, make them in 30grams sizes instead.

*available at a good quality providores such as Essential Ingredient or Peter’s of Kensington